The first-place Orioles' rating of 7.16 is up 27 percent compared with this point last season and trails only those for the Kansas City Royals (12.23) and St. Louis Cardinals (8.05).The Oakland Athletics (0.75) are the only team in baseball with a sub-1.0 rating.

A ratings point itself represents 1 percent of all households with the team's local sports network. In Baltimore, by comparison, the race portion of May's Preakness drew a 19.7 local rating.

The Orioles drew a 5.35 average household rating on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network last season, according to SportsBusiness Journal, which was unchanged from 2014 late-season data. The figure ranked fifth in baseball.

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Peter Schmuck updates the middle infield position and where Jonathan Villar might end up playing. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun video)

Peter Schmuck updates the middle infield position and where Jonathan Villar might end up playing. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun video)